Ashley Olsen makes a different kind of impact for Wagner College women's basketball

Wagner College/David SaffranAshley Olsen wasn't regarded as a defensive player coming out of Notre Dame Academy, but her performance in last week's opener is drawing rave reviews from the coaching staff.

If the ride home from Wagner College seemed a bit longer last Friday for Army’s women’s basketball team and Patriot League first-teamer Erin Anthony, they have Seahawk assistant coach Brett Self and senior forward Ashley Olsen to blame.

Not only did the Seahawks plant a 52-48 overtime loss on the Black Knights, it was the defensive scheme cooked up by Self and executed by Olsen that really made the win possible.

“Coach Self broke down (last year’s 74-70 OT defeat) film and, by the week’s end, the team knew everything about Erin Anthony, including her date of birth and eye color,” chuckled head coach Gela Mikalauskas. “We were well prepared for Anthony thanks to coach.”

Olsen, the 1,000-point career scorer for Notre Dame Academy, vacillated at first before buying into the key assignment.

“On Tuesday, coach Self came up to me and asked me, ‘Can you stop her?’

“I hesitated, knowing how she beat us (27 points) last year. She’s tall, lanky, runs the court well, and is a dominant post player. And then I said, ‘I can.’¤”

Olsen, a 5-11 senior in the best shape of her career, forced the 6-2 Army star into 1-of-10 shooting from the floor and a four-point outing. More importantly, she left Army with an ineffective go-to star.

“(Army) looks to Anthony all the time, the offense revolves around her,” explained Self, a rookie coach from Auburn. “A.O. is a special player. She’s quick, hard working and strong. Who better to guard her? I was on her tail all week, but she put in the extra effort and we won because of it.”

“I wasn’t having such a good night at the offensive (shooting 1 of 9) end, but I figured if I stop her, Army will have a tough time running its offense,” added Olsen, who might try an encore tomorrow night on the road against Siena’s high-scoring Serena Moore.

“The guards did a terrific job helping out as did the help side. Coach Self was wonderful in preparing me with my post defense; it was a big step for me.”

Defense was not the Seahawk tri-captain’s forte coming out of high school where she was an Advance All Star in basketball, softball and volleyball.

“I was one of the bigger players but that’s no longer true now,” pointed out the business administration major who led the Northeast Conference in free-throw shooting percentage and tied for third in rebounding last year.

“This is a much different level than high school and you have to be dedicated and want to play defense to excel.”

Apparently, Olsen has come a long way since falling down during her initial collegiate running drill.

“A.O. knew how bad she was defensively when she came in,” Mikalauskas recalled. “For most freshmen, it’s a matter of reaching that maturity level. You never questioned Ashley’s heart. But I think she’s finally got it.”

Following the regimen crafted by strength and conditioning coach Brandon Beach, the much-improved four-year starter wants to have her name mentioned when the NEC’s top players are discussed.

“She’s stronger and gets up and down the court all because of the new conditioning,” explains Mikalauskas. “It also develops a new mental toughness. She’s able to get out to the 3-point line, takes the charges inside, and is active on the help side.

“It takes a personal commitment to play solid college defense and not every player is going to buy into that. And, because she’s in such good playing shape and has that defender’s frame of mind, Ashley is now one of our best defenders.”